Is Belief in Conspiracy Theories a Sign of Mental Health Issues?

April 23, 2015 • By GoodTherapy.org Staff

Pop quiz: What do the moon landings, the JFK assassination, and the 9/11 terrorist attacks have in common?

Give up?

While each event touched the lives of millions of people and left indelible marks on American history, there is a third similarity: these events were all staged … or so some people who believe in conspiracy theories may argue.

Conspiracy theories posit that people, groups, organizations, or governments deliberately withhold or cover up the truth surrounding events and situations. While conspiracy theories typically lack the concrete evidence of more conventional explanations, they nevertheless exist and are upheld within a percentage of the population. Perhaps you’re not losing sleep over an alleged alien spacecraft hidden somewhere near Roswell, New Mexico or deadly diseases supposedly manufactured as a means of population control, but some people are convinced that those in authority are working together to conceal the truth surrounding certain events.

For some, there might be comfort in thinking they know something most people don’t, but that doesn’t mean the fringe is a comfortable place to be. For people who believe in explanations that differ from the mainstream or the historical record, their mental health may be called into question.

Mistrust Isn’t Always Misplaced

There is a rich history of conspiracy theories in the United States, partly because its democratic society allows for free speech, partly because of its robust and shadowy intelligence community, and partly because, well, conspiracies in America have been uncovered before.

During the Cold War, for example, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) conducted illegal scientific research to see if it could control people’s minds. The CIA used LSD, hypnosis, and biological agents on people, often without their knowledge, to study how it affected their behavior. The program was conducted over two decades, enlisted the help of top researchers at more than 30 universities, and cost American taxpayers more than $20 million.

While to many people that may sound like a far-fetched idea cooked up on a conspiracy theory website, the program was called Project MK-ULTRA and was uncovered by an investigation headed by Senator Frank Church and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller in 1975.

People who are believers in conspiracy theories are correct in their assertion that things are not always as they seem.

Conspiracies and Public Perception

Conspiracy theories are often assumed to be the paranoid delusions of a troubled minority. However, a national survey published in April 2013 by Public Policy Polling shows that as many as 21% of Americans believe that an alien spaceship crashed in Roswell, and that the government covered it up.

9% of voters believe the government adds fluoride to the water supply for sinister reasons

15% of voters believe that new diseases are invented by the medical and pharmaceutical industries for profit

20% of voters believe there is a link between childhood vaccines and autism

Although it can be assumed that some people who believe in conspiracy theories have mental health conditions that factor into their perceptions of reality, many people who can think rationally and whose mental health has never been compromised hold tight to conspiracy theories.

Why is that?

Cass Sunstein, a law professor at Harvard, former administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and author of Conspiracy Theories and Other Dangerous Ideas, said in an interview with U.S. News & World Report: “Under conditions of fear or anger, as for example following a bad event, people want to find a cause, and they also want to resolve their own uncertainty. So if you’ve seen an assassination, or a terrible economic downturn or a missing plane, there may be an inclination to posit an agent who’s behind it.”

Many conspiracy theories are created simply to explain things that may seem unexplainable. Some researchers believe they fulfill important social functions or psychological needs. They may give believers higher self-esteem by making them feel superior to others who think differently; they offer people perceived power over events in which they have no influence; and they can help believers make sense of trauma, tragedy, and catastrophe.Conspiracy theories tend to stick in society and popular culture because they are much harder to disprove than they are to introduce, especially in cases where the facts are redacted or withheld from the public.
Conspiracy theories tend to stick in society and popular culture because they are much harder to disprove than they are to introduce, especially in cases where the facts are redacted or withheld from the public. Also, it’s easier than ever to find people who share your views; conspiracy theories tend to spread easily on the Internet among like-minded populations that readily accept them. They can perpetuate good, bad, or indifference, depending on who receives them.

Building the Belief: Is It All a Conspiracy?

While many people tend to keep an open mind about major world events, someone who is labeled a “conspiracy theorist” may construct and maintain a worldview that is defined by conspiracies. He or she may display what psychologists refer to as a “monological belief system” wherein unexplained events are perceived as being part of a master plan. Alternative explanations are typically rejected outright. For some, conspiracies are seen everywhere, in anything and everything. In fact, one of the greatest predictors of whether someone will believe a conspiracy theory is if he or she already believes other conspiracy theories.

A study by Wood et al. (2011) illustrates that some who believe in conspiracy theories can even reconcile contradicting theories if there is coherence with a strongly held worldview. For example, the study showed that the more people believed Osama bin Laden was already dead when he was found by U.S. troops, the more they believed he is still alive. While the theories clearly contradict each other, both are consistent with the basic worldview that officialdom is fundamentally deceptive.

Studies have found that conspiracy theories are difficult to shed. If evidence to the contrary is presented, people who believe in conspiracy theories typically reason that the evidence was planted or invented to placate skeptics.

Skepticism is often warranted—in fact, it’s the foundation of the media’s role as a government watchdog. But when distrust of that media runs rampant, skepticism is compounded. When the facts are in doubt, people may be inclined to develop beliefs that fit self-serving narratives.

Calling someone a conspiracy theorist can serve as a social mechanism to discredit or exclude that person’s viewpoint. It is sometimes easier to call a person a conspiracy theorist than it is to address his or her questions and concerns, which may further isolate someone who believes in a conspiracy theory.

The Bottom Line

Although people who believe in conspiracy theories may be dismissed or derided by some people as “crazy,” the prevalence of conspiracy theories in American culture and the rest of the world suggests that most people who believe in conspiracy theories are not experiencing some kind of psychopathology. For its part, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders draws no direct link between belief in conspiracy theories and mental health issues. However, some people who believe intensely or even casually in conspiracy theories may also be experiencing mental health issues such as paranoia, schizophrenia, narcissism, delusions, anxiety, or trust issues that affect their everyday lives. Some of these issues have been found to be more prevalent among people who believe in conspiracy theories.

If mental health conditions are present that make it difficult to distinguish reality from fears and unsettling thoughts, therapy—perhaps in combination with medication—may help. If you or someone you know is experiencing troublesome thoughts beyond what you believe to be healthy, seeking the help of a mental health professional can be a great place to start. Therapy can help a person identify factors that may have contributed to his or her worldview, for better or for worse, as well as what type of treatment and support may be best for addressing any related conditions.

Labeling any person as “crazy”—regardless of his or her thoughts or beliefs—can result in negative effects. For example, calling someone crazy may cause emotional or psychological pain, contribute to the marginalization or dehumanization of certain individuals or groups, or exacerbate stigma surrounding mental health conditions.

The preceding article was solely written by the author named above. Any views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org. Questions or concerns about the preceding article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment below.

Kit

April 23rd, 2015 at
7:38 AM

I don’t in any way think that conspiracy theory people are crazy, but I do think that some of them have some ideas that really are out there. It is hard for me to agree with most of them because they are a little too much out in left field for me, but to them they make perfectly good sense.

Joe

November 21st, 2016 at
8:55 AM

Conclusion are based of the facts presented. For example, one strange phenomenon occurred during the 9/11 events that has no explanation. Telephone records show that cell phone calls were made on the aircraft involved in the events flying much higher than the 2000 foot ceiling in which a cell phone could connect to cell phone towers. That is, even if a cell phone could connect to a tower, the the aircraft is moving so fast that the connection would be constantly handed off to another tower and then off to another tower and so forth, leading up to a disconnection of the call. The only explanation for successful completion of these calls is that they were made on the ground which which discredits the official story.

Elaine

April 25th, 2015 at
5:36 AM

I do think that there are some secrets out there that the government is withholding from us but at the same time I have to think that perhaps some of that is not stuff that I even need to worry about or know. I don’t think that there is all of this going on to cause harm to me, but maybe just to protect us all, and I really don’t see anything wrong with that. I do not need to know all of the secrets or whether aliens have ever landed on the moon, That makes no difference to me in my everyday life, and if someone out there think s that this makes me and my family safer then I don’t really care.

thomas

Mason

April 27th, 2015 at
11:09 AM

For many people this goes deeply into being paranoid about who knew what and when, and for many of them this starts a chain of events in their mind that could be unfathomable to the rest of us. I am not sure how it happens that they begin believing these things but there are definitely many who believe in this whole conspiracy project against them and they will support their belief in that until the very end. I think that for many it in turn makes them very unstable.

dj

April 28th, 2015 at
10:46 AM

You know, they could be onto something. I don’t dismiss all of those theories out of hand just because I don’t believe them. I am at least willing to give someone a forum to try to explain to me what they are thinking.
Now if w e get past that point and I still don’t believe it I will let them know. But hey, this is a free country, think what you want if that’s what makes you happy.

Troy

April 29th, 2015 at
9:42 AM

Why is it that just because you may not believe what the rests of society believes you are automatically labeled as crazy?
You are welcome to believe what you wish as long as you also respect my right to do that same.

Ruth O

monkey424

November 18th, 2016 at
12:09 PM

The phrase “conspiracy theory” was popularised by the CIA. Google it if you like (but be aware sources like Wikipedia will try to downplay this fact). Conspiracies are real and happen all the time, but the word is forever married to the word “theory”. It’s a form of psychological manipulation. Sometimes the truth is known about a conspiracy (and often blatantly obvious) but the word “theory” makes people assume the truth is not known. In any serious discussion of the psychology of so-called conspiracy theorists, one first has to acknowledge the popularisation of the phrase itself was a conspiracy.

Christina Gould

June 18th, 2017 at
1:23 AM

I have to laugh at the logic used that people who believe in conspiracy theories are crazy. History is replete with examples of governments and “elites” conspiring against, or simply to fool, the populous. There are several admitted, declassified intelligence projects that we were told didn’t exist and that we were conspiracy theorist nutcases to think otherwise. Heck, until several years ago, we were told only “conspiracy theorist” nutcases believe there was such thing as the Bilderberg Group. So based on history, I’d say the conspiracy theorists are the critical thinkers among us.

Robert Cartier

August 25th, 2017 at
9:55 AM

@Christina Gould

It’s a matter of scale… Conspiracies obviously exist. Just as obvious is the fact that not all, and I dare say not many CAN be true. It was relatively easy for the CIA to conduct those experiments in the 60s. They were already, by design, a secretive organisation. Anyone who would have known about the project would already be a vetted member of the CIA, very able and smart enough to keep their mouth shut. But many of these theories would require millions and millions of untrained participants to even have a chance of being true. In this age of social media this could never happen. Not to mention the weird science they invent to “prove” it all.

I recently saw a debunking video (lots of those around, too) where the author, an actual working scientist, gave 3 possibilities to consider whenever science is disregarded in some conspiracy theory. Which one is more likely?

1) All scientists are incompetent.
2) All scientists are in on it, and want to fool you, get you, control you.
3) Scientists, after years of study, may be able to understand stuff that you don’t.

Perhaps it’s an inferiority complex.
It seems that the less people know about something, the more likely they are to distrust those people who do.

But to believe that “conspiracy theorists are the critical thinkers among us” is naive and ridiculous. Using a few real conspiracies from the past to justify that statement would disreguard the obvious fact that if one suspects everything, chances are that they will be right once in a while. It doesn’t make them any kind of “critical thinker”. (Ms. Gould, please understand that I mean no personal offence. I was pretty sure your “critical thinkers” statement was for effect.)

I believe that conspiracy theories may eventually replace religion; arguably the biggest, most successful conspiracy of all time!
Maybe humans need a bit of irrationality in their minds… Keeping them occupied while the smaller, less salacious but true conspiracies are happening, undetected. — Ah-ha! There’s a conspiracy for you!

Cheers from Montreal (Canada)!
— where many of those CIA experiments were carried out, at McGill University. One of my doctors, now retired, was part of the team that analysed the effects. So, yes, that conspiracy was true.

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